Hard Talk – Healthcare cost burden

By Nasik Swami: Payroll tax on GPs, increasing costs for GP visits, and a complicated Medicare scheme—is our health system failing our communities and the most vulnerable? Are the increasing healthcare costs becoming a deterrent for people in our district to visit a GP/doctor and seek treatment when our public hospitals are already overcrowded? Who should be held accountable for the burden of the extra healthcare costs people in country towns are facing? The Royal Australian College of GPs and the Australian Medical Association have warned the payroll tax would force clinics to pass on the cost to patients, end bulk billing, or shut down completely. In this edition of Hard Talk, The News digs deep into the much talked about GP payroll tax, the increasing cost of seeing a GP in country towns like Naracoorte, and a review of our Medicare system. We asked the SA Health Minister Chris […]

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Naracoorte Market Report: 13 October 2026

Cattle: LWB 29 – LWY 640 – LWC 283 – OAY 56

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A soldier, a mate, never forgotten

For more than four decades, Naracoorte Vietnam War veteran Private Robert “Bob” Liddy’s military service has gone without the recognition it deserved.

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What happened to $500,000?

A $500,000 taxpayer-funded grant linked to a failed childcare development in Naracoorte remains publicly unaccounted for, even after the state government announced a fresh $12.7 million investment to tackle the town’s worsening childcare shortage.

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Cr McGuire’s $760,000 challenge

Naracoorte Lucindale councillor Craig McGuire has challenged his fellow elected members to ask residents whether spending about $760,000 on three Naracoorte Creek weirs represents value for ratepayers.

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Big town forum

A major showdown over rare earth mining is looming in Naracoorte, with residents, farmers and businesses urged to turn out in force for a town forum amid growing concerns over the region’s land, groundwater, and future.

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Study: School belonging key to teen wellbeing

New Australian research finds students’ sense of belonging and relationships at school are more strongly linked to future wellbeing than a range of other school characteristics.

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